2014 World Motocross Wrap - MX2
By Alex Hodgkinson on 30th Dec 14
Jordi Tixier was the tortoise and Jeffrey Herlings the hare, and, just like in the story your mum read you as a kid, the steady tortoise won the day in the 2014 World MX2 series as the supremely confident hare proved to be his own worst enemy.
Already during his 2013 year of domination the ‘Bullit' had used up more lives than a cat and gleefully admitted that his worst enemy was his own temperament as he dropped just motos, and not a single overall, in the 15 GPs he started.
The truth is that, despite still being a teenager, he should, as champion 2012, never have still been racing MX2 in 2014
The initial age cap rules only permitted a single title defence, but series sponsor KTM, none too keen on sending their crown jewels Cairoli and Herlings head-to-head, kept yapping for long enough for Youthstream to jerk the puppet strings of the FIM and get the clause scrapped.
Tixier is the first to admit that speed-wise he is not on the same planet as Herlings, his teammate for the last two years.
It's a refreshing honesty which MX1 front runners have not had to face as yet and they will continue to be spared as long as TC keeps winning; Tixier must move up on age grounds in 2016, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Herlings will still be running rings round the ‘opposition' in MX2.
For the full report see TMX News Issue 1952 (January 1, 2015)
